This Day In Wrestling History – July 1st

Jul 1, 2017 - by Bill Fenbers

1949Cavernario Galindo defeats Tarzan Lopez to win the Mexico National Light Heavyweight Championship.  Lopez had held the title since April 12, 1947 – a span of 811 consecutive days.

1962Rikidozan & Toyonobori defeat Buddy Austin & Mike Sharpe, to win the JWA All Asia Tag Team Championship.

1966Giant Baba & Michiaki Yoshimura defeat Eddie Graham & Killer Karl Kox, to win the JWA All Asia Tag Team Championship.

1966Rene Guajardo defeats Jerry London, to win the NWA World Middleweight Championship.

1977Flama Azul defeats Americo Rocca, to win the Mexican National Lightweight Championship.

1980Mr. Hito & Mr. Sakurada defeat The Von Erichs (Kevin & Kerry), to win the vacant NWA American Tag Team Championship.

1984Ron Garvin defeats Jake Roberts, to win the NWA World Television Championship.

1988The Von Erichs (Kevin & Kerry) defeat Iceman Parsons & Terry Taylor, to win the WCWA World Tag Team Championship.

1989Joe Malenko defeats Mitsuo Momota, to win the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship.

1991 – World Championship Wrestling fires its World Heavyweight Champion, Ric Flair, after Flair refuses to take a pay cut and change his ring name and appearance.  The WCW World Heavyweight Championship is vacated.  Flair also held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the time, and would also be stripped two months later, when he debuted on WWF television with the “Big Gold Belt.”

1995 – ECW Hardcore Heaven is held at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, in front of 1,150 fans.

Snot Dudley & Dudley Dudley defeat The Pitbulls (#1 & #2).
Dino Sendoff & Don E. Allen fought The Broad Street Bully & Chad Austin to a No Contest.
Hack Meyers defeats Big Malley.
2 Cold Scorpio defeats Taz.
Raven & Stevie Richards defeat Tommy Dreamer & Luna Vachon, to retain the ECW World Tag Team Championship.
Axl Rotten defeats Ian Rotten in a Taipei Death Match.
The Sandman defeats Cactus Jack, to retain the ECW World Heavyweight Championship.
The Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge & Rocco Rock) defeat The Gangstas (New Jack & Mustafa Saed).

1996Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee defeat Flex Kavana & Bart Sawyer, to win the USWA World Tag Team Championship.

1996 – In the Monday Night Wars, WCW Monday Nitro (3.3 TV rating) beats WWF Monday Night RAW (2.6 rating).

2007Chris Sabin wins the AJPW Junior League, defeating Shuji Kondo in the final.

2008Ricky Ortiz, formerly known as Atlas Da Bone in WWE developmental, makes his WWE main roster debut on this evening’s ECW on Sci-Fi.  Performing as Atlas Ortiz, he defeats Armando Estrada, in his first match.

2009 – WWE signs Serena Deeb to a developmental deal.  Deeb would go on to work the SmackDown brand as a member of CM Punk’s Straight Edge Society.

2012Akebono & Ryota Hama defeat Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi, to win the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship.

2015 – On Impact Wrestling, Ethan Carter III defeats Kurt Angle, to become the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion.  Also, The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) defeat The Dirty Heels (Austin Aries & Bobby Roode), to win the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship.  This was a 30-minute Iron-Man Match, and the fifth match of a Best-of-Five Series (The Wolves win 3-2).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:  Indy wrestlers Rob Love (27 years old) and Terry Frazier (31 years old);  2004 Diva Search runner-up Carmella DeCesare (35 years old);  and WrestleMania XI celebrity participant Pamela Anderson (50 years old, escorted Diesel to the ring for his WWF Championship match vs. Shawn Michaels).

Today would’ve been the 46th birthday for AAA Hall of Famer Abismo Negro.

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